Mother of Monsters
by FandomSavedMe
Summary: What if Echidna rebelled against Zeus and built an army of her children? My first PJatO story(: R&R please.
1. My Horse Does the Chicken Dance

Hi. I'm Gabbi Thalassa. Let me just start by saying that I never wanted to ride a chicken. I would have preferred to just ride my horse. It was not my idea. For your own sake, I'll start at the beginning.

I'm adopted. My mom d-d-…Oh fine, I'll say it. She died when I was four. It was really hard for me. Mom and I were really close. She took me to work with her, and hardly ever let me out of her sight. I loved going to work with her every day, because she worked at a zoo. I sometimes got to pet the animals, but never the eagles. Mom said they were dangerous. Mom would sing me to sleep at night, because of my nightmares. She had the most beautiful singing voice. It was just as gorgeous as her. She talked to me about lots of stuff. If I asked a question, she'd answer it, no matter what. When Dad came up, she answered my questions, very indirectly. All I knew about my father was that he and Mom never married, but if they could have, Mom would have married him in a heartbeat. The topic usually went unmentioned, because I don't like talking about my dad either. He's a jerk for leaving my mom. Anyway, I just enjoyed life with my mother, and I'm glad I did. Then when she, ah, passed on, and I went into foster care, life got pretty rough. I moved around a lot, because no one seemed to want me. I was constantly "the new girl". School was extremely difficult, because I switched schools and curriculum often, and my dyslexia and attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder made learning hard enough besides. Then, finally, my last foster home was with Nathan and Kathy Simmons.

Nathan and Kathy were an older couple with no children, living in Quiona, West Virginia. They had a large acreage, but only had a dog and a garden. The rest was wild orchards and fields. There were some barns in pretty good shape, too. I moved there two weeks before my eighth birthday. I hadn't expected any presents, because the last time I'd had a gift on my birthday was when Mom was alive. June first was just another day. Then the Simmons' gave me a filly. I named her Dancer, because her dam's name was Ballerina. I was ecstatic; a horse all my own! We were inseparable, we did everything together. I pretended we could communicate telepathically, and I told her everything, and imagined her replies. We would 'talk' about how much we wished the Simmons' would adopt me so that I could stay here forever and ever. One month after I arrived in Quiona, Kathy's friend, Li Song, came over and brought her son, Chris to play. We played and they talked. Then when the Songs left and Nathan got home from work, I was told that the Simmons' wanted to make Quiona my home. They wanted to keep me! I was so excited! The process was long and dreadful, but finally after all the mountains of paperwork were done, I was Nathan and Kathy's daughter. I kept my last name, because I didn't want to give up Mom.

That fall, at school, I met a girl named Andreina Cortez. We became best friends in an instant. We were both dyslexic, ADHD, and horsey. We did everything together, from coloring pages to lemonade stands. We were Gabbi Cortez, Andreina Thalassa, Kaydreina Cortassa. I had a great time with her and the other friends I met. From third to seventh grade, life was nearly perfect. Then it changed. In eighth grade Language Arts, the teacher assigned us _The __Lightning __Thief,_ by Rick Riordan, to read. Andreina and I were partners, and read the book all the way through. It was torture to our dyslexic minds, but we struggled with it till we were finished, then read _The __Sea __of __Monsters, __The __Titan__'__s __Curse, __The __Battle __of __the __Labyrinth, __The __Last __Olympian, __The __Demigod __Files,_and _The __Ultimate __Guide._We watched the movie and cursed the directors for ruining the plot. We were admittedly obsessed. I think that's when the weird things started happening again. Monsters from the book started coming to life, literally. I'm going to spell that out for emphasis: L-I-T-T-U-R-A-L-Y.

Somewhere along the way, my partner-in-crime, my other half, my soul sister, my best friend, Andreina, got caught up in boys. I don't pretend to understand why, but she started thinking about boys, and makeup, and dating a lot more. I think the scientific term is _puberty._ Anyway, when we talked, I was the only one talking about horses, rather than both of us. I would talk about stuff such as, what stallions I'd breed Dancer too and the babies she'd have (in my imagination), and she would talk about what boys she had crushes on and what guys had crushes on her. I mostly ignored it. I couldn't have cared less. She dated lots of different boys. I rode lots of different horses. Then the exchange student from Australia asked Andreina out and she would not stop going on and on about his accent and how ripped he was and how much fun their date was going to be. It was annoying; I wanted to talk horse, but _no._ Finally the designated day came around, and she went on her date. My parents were on a date too. I was alone, at home, with Dancer. I was fine. I saddled up my horse and headed for the trail. I rode for a long time, thinking about randomness.

Then Andreina interrupted me by calling my cell phone. I answered, and she screamed, "Gabbi, save me! Hurry, he's a-" then the phone cut out. I turned Dancer toward Quiona, because the next closest town is an hour away, then spurred her into a gallop.

All of a sudden, the voice I imagined for Dancer started to talk in my head. _"__Gabbi, __this __might __freak __you __out, __but __I__'__m __a __pegasus, __and __I__'__m __going __to __reveal __my __wings, __so __calm __down, __it__'__ll __be __faster.__" _

I was startled, because all the times we've 'talked' I really just imagined her answers/comments. So I was like, _"__Hah. __Thank __you, __brain, __for __popping __out __one __of __your __random __comments. __No __more __reading __for __you.__"_

And Dancer's voice said, _"__Gabbi, __seriously, __I __am __your __horse, __and __I__'__m __talking __to __you. __Let__'__s __fly.__" _Then gorgeous, chocolate brown wings sprouted from my horse's withers. They were the same color of Dancer's coat.

I shouted in my thoughts, _"__YOU__'__RE __HALF __CHICKEN?__" _

She snorted. _"__No, __I__'__m __half __duck. __I__'__M __A __PEGASUS. __No __poultry __involved. __Get __it __right.__" _She leapt into the sky and suddenly we were flying. Flying is twice as good as galloping. The wind was really in my face, and it took us about two minutes to get to Quiona, a fifteen minute ride. I looked around for Andreina, and then I saw her, running. I looked, and saw a thirty-foot-tall-freakishly-blue-ice-dude-who-was-freezing-everything-with-his-breath. I screamed, and she looked up. We swept down and she jumped on Dancer. We flew up and away just as the ice giant slammed his fist on the ground where we had been. As we flew north, ish, Dancer yelled, "To Camp Half-Blood!" I kind of recognized the name, but my head hurt and I passed out.

When I woke up, I was in a tent-like room. There were some girls in my room, and they all looked alike. They had brown skin, and their green hair blew around in a nonexistent breeze. One of them said, "Oh, look the little human wakes! Some one go tell Chiron. Do you want some nectar, sweet? Or some ambrosia? Do you need to use the restroom?"

I was like, "I'm not a butterfly." At least some of kindergarten had made it through my thick skull. "What the heck is ambrosia? Who are you? Where am I? When did I pass out? Why am I here? How did you find me?"

She smiled like I was a puppy dog that had just learned a new trick, "The little half-blood is curious! I wonder who her parent is. Maybe it's Athena. Sweet, you need some nectar, you look pale. I'm Aspen; this is Oak, Maple, Willow, Birch, and Elm. We are dryads, tree spirits. Here is some nectar." She passed me a glass of honey-colored water. It looked gross, but I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it. It was liquid chocolate chip cookies. Nathan's chocolate chip cookies. Delicious.

Then a man rode a horse into the tent. Or maybe he was part horse. I don't know, my head hurt so much, I couldn't tell a horse from a chicken. He said, "I am Chiron, the centaur."

I said, "I'm Gabbi. Is my horse okay, cause I think I fell off."

He looked at me, considering how much to say, and said, "Yes, your pegasus is fine. You did fall off. Some campers who saw the incident said you displayed some excellent pegasi riding nonetheless. Where did you learn?" I didn't know what he was talking about, so I told him where I learned to ride horses.

"At home, with Andreina. We taught ourselves."

He looked slightly impressed, then said, "Interesting. However, the question now is how you owned a pegasus and had a demigod best friend, and still failed to realize that you are a half-blood. And now you are laying here in front of a centaur, you've been waited on by dryads for a week, and you still think you are hallucinating." I sighed.

"No, the question is: WHY is everyone pretending that Rick Riordan's books are real? Is no one going to explain?" Centaurs, dryads, pegasus, demigods, these people had to be joking.

Chiron said, "I'm sorry. I'll explain…wait. You've read those books? Aren't you dyslexic?" Chiron looked amazed.

I said, "Yeah, I'm dyslexic, and yeah, I read those books. They are, like, the only books I've ever read."

Chiron said, "Alright. The best way to explain is to tell you the truth. Rick Riordan is the camp scribe. Did you not heed Percy's warning? In his first book, he tells readers to stop reading if they recognize themselves in his story. You apparently didn't." I laughed.

"Duh. I thought they were fiction. Thanks for explaining, though."

"Farewell, I am needed for Capture the Flag." The horse man said, then he bowed and left.

"That didn't just happen. I did not just speak to a centaur." I was starting to realize the truth in what Chiron had said, and it scared me. I didn't want to admit that I was a demigod.


	2. I Become Waterproof

It was the next day when I finally felt better. "How long was I out?" I askedAspen.

"Eight days. Do you want a tour of camp? I'll go get someone to show you around."Aspensaid.

"Thanks, but I think I can figure it out on my own. See you later." I got out of the bed. I wanted to find Dancer. We were going for a ride. I headed for the place that seemed to pull me like a magnet.

In the stable, I was startled to find not horses, but _winged_ horses. Pegasi. I thought, _"Where is Dancer?"_

_"Here I am!"_ The voice was in my head.

_"I must be going crazy, but I think I just heard my horse talk to me."_ I thought.

_"You aren't crazy! I'm talking to you. Let's fly! No one has ridden me in DAYS! Let's go, c'mon!"_ Dancer neighed.

"Okay, let's go!" I leapt astride my horse. Then my horse sprouted wings. We flew out of the barn. As we flew, I looked at the camp. There were lots of campers. Some were playing volleyball in the pits; others practiced sword fighting in an arena. Two burly kids were towing a wheelbarrow with mangled swords, shields, weapons and armor towards a cabin that seemed to be alive…with machinery. I noticed some basketball players on the court. As I watched, I saw the star of our school's team make an amazing slam dunk. Chris was here. Chris is a boy from my home town. I've known him since I came to Nathan and Kathy's place. Me and Andreina always tease him, and he teases us back. He's just always been there, a normal figure in my life. It was weird to see him at this freak camp… Anyway, some more campers were rowing canoes in a lake, climbing a wall with lava and rockslides, or doing their makeup by the lake. I was surprised. Why were all those kids doing nothing, while everyone else was working so hard? I asked Dancer to fly lower, I wanted to investigate. As we approached, a girl waved. I was surprised again, to see Andreina sitting with the other girls, doing makeup and laughing. They all looked alike, yet different. Each one had their own style, but each was beautiful.

Andreina called, "Gabbi, come sit with us! I'll do your makeup, and Piper wants to do your hair! Come on!"

"Um, I don't-"

"Come on, you'll love it! Hurry!" Andreina interrupted.

Dancer flew lower. She landed. _"I hate you, Dancer."_ I thought.

_"Thanks. I love you, too. I just wanted to get my mane braided, is it too much to ask?"_ Dancer said.

_"Yes. No fair, landing without warning."_ I complained.

"Come over here, Gabbi! You can sit right here!" Andreina called, patting the ground next to her. I reluctantly shuffled over to where Andreina was waiting.

"Do it quick, you know how much I hate it." I whined. I loathe beauty products. I'm primped enough when my hair is in a ponytail and my teeth are brushed, but Andreina has to have twenty layers of makeup and spends hours on her hair each day, if not more.

Hours later, I groaned. "Can we be done yet?"

"Just a moment… There! Our masterpiece is complete!" the Aphrodite counselor Piper announced as she put the last touches on my hair.

"You look amazing, Gabbi!" Andreina exclaimed.

"Don't lie." I know that isn't true. I'm not pretty. I'm not even close. My mom was pretty. Her complexion was beautiful, her hair was perfect, her form was elegant, and her smile was always contagious. I didn't have the luck to inherit her genes. I'm always really tan, as if I've been at the beach the whole summer. My hair curls, no matter what I do to change it. I'm sort of vertically challenged, and I'm really klutzy. I'll never be like my mom.

I was singing _This Land is Minos' Land_ half-heartedly with the rest of the campers at the fire. The fire changed with the mood of the crowd, and right now it was a merry orange and burning like a normal fire. As I sang, I thought, _"I don't even know who my real parents are. Maybe Mom really isn't my mom! No, that's not true. But everything I thought I knew about myself is meaningless now."_ I was surprised as the light bathing the group changed from a warm orange to a cool sea-green. Everyone gasped. They were staring at me. Well, above my head really. I looked. There was a floating, holographic spear with three prongs above my head. I didn't get what the big deal was, but that thing was a bit freaky. Then someone said in an awed voice, "Poseidon?" I realized what was happening; I'm a daughter of the sea god.

When I went to bed that night, I went to Cabin Three. Inside, a boy about seventeen or so greeted me. He looked a bit like me, with dark brown hair that was almost black and green eyes.

"Hey, I'm Percy. I'm your brother. Welcome to Cabin Three."

"Hi. I'm Gabbi…your sister?"

Percy hesitated. Then he reached over and gave me a big hug. He let go, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I'm used to being an only child, but I'm glad to have you. Tyson doesn't come to camp anymore since Zeus made him the leader of the Cyclops army."

"I'm used to being an only child, too, but I always wanted an older brother." I said. I felt just as uncomfortable as Percy looked. But it was true, I have always wished to have an older brother, someone who would stick up for me at school and talk to me at home.

"Well, I'll try to be a good brother."

"Percy, can you do weird stuff too? Cause I've been able to talk to my horse in my head recently, and I was practically born swimming…"

"Yeah. If you can do the same things as me, you'll also be able to breath underwater, control water, have perfect bearings at sea, sail a boat singlehandedly, see underwater…we have heat sensitive eyes…, and talk to sea creatures. There is probably some other things I don't even know about yet…Oh, and water heals you and makes you stronger… It's confusing, I know." Percy laughed at my bewildered expression.

I laughed too. "You're telling me!"

I was still smiling when I went to bed.


	3. The Fate of the Earth

It was Capture the Flag time.

The campers were all gathered, stretching and talking, getting ready for the game when Chiron spoke up. "What ho! Warriors…" He trailed off. Everyone looked where he was staring. Some girl had stood up, jerking like a robot. Her eyes were shining with a green light. A green mist billowed out of her mouth when she began to speak.

_"A monster stirs, a terrible fate,_

_The world will tremble, the cause is great,_

_May gods prevail, and together live,_

_Then water, dove, and sun must give,_

_On to the south, on to danger, beware,_

_The safety of Earth hangs by a hair._"

The girl collapsed. Many campers and satyrs ran to assist her. I was numb. The strange, rasping voice was ringing in my ears. When the girl had been taken to the Big House, Chiron quieted the crowd. "Stand down! Rachel's prophecy calls for a quest."

Everyone started talking at once.

"Water, dove, and sun? Well, that's easy. Poseidon, Aphrodite, and Apollo."

"But who gets to lead?"

"Who's going?"

"Let's figure that out."

"WHAT MONSTER? I'LL TEAR IT APART!" bellowed an Ares child.

Everyone went silent. Chiron spoke, "Peace, Clarisse. We understand. Each and every one of us is sick and tired of monsters and threats, but that is what we are here for. We help the gods, and by the sound of the prophecy, the gods will be destroyed, the world obliterated, unless our heroes survive and complete their quest."

"But who are our heroes?" someone shouted out.

"I was getting to that. Like Lacy said, Poseidon, Aphrodite, and Apollo. Piper and Will, as senior counselors, please choose one of your campers for the quest. And Percy, you may choose if you want to go, or you can send Gabbi."

"I already know who I'm choosing! Team MVP and my right hand man, Chris! Come on, man!" Will Solace said. Chris stood up and walked to the front of the crowd. His siblings cheered him on. Some chanted his name. He smiled. Then Piper spoke up.

"Most of you expect me to choose Andreina, but I need her for a certain top secret scheme. I'm sending Tiffany on this quest." A blonde haired, blue eyed girl looked startled when she heard her name. She looked really scared as she stood up and walked up to stand by Chris.

"Chiron, if you don't mind, I want a few minutes to talk to my sister about this. We won't be long." Percy turned to me. "Can we talk for a bit?"

I stood up. "Yeah."

Percy led me into the pegasus stables. "Gabbi, I've been on lots of quests. I've faced Hades in his palace, Ares in combat. I've traveled the same seas that Odysseus sailed. I've trapped Atlas under the sky again. I've made it through the Labyrinth and past the monsters there. And I've led all the demigods here in war against Kronos, the king of the Titans. I've lost many friends, and made many more. I've been offered immortality. I've seen a god die. I've finally got Annabeth to go out with me. But I'm tired of it all. I want you to go on this quest. I understand that you might not want to go. It's up to you."

I hesitated. I wanted to go, but I was scared. The 'safety of Earth' lay partially in my hands, I didn't want to be the thirteen-year-old girl who helped ruin it all. Also, I didn't want to leave my brother, and I didn't want him to leave me. Nearly everything I've ever loved or cared for has always been taken from me, and I didn't want to lose Percy. "I'll go."

"Okay. Good luck, Gabbi."

Everyone stopped murmuring when they saw Percy and me. Percy went to the front, to where Chiron, Chris, Tiffany, Will, and Piper were standing. Facing the crowd, he announced, "My sister, Gabbi, will go on this quest. The team _will_ succeed."

"All right. Now all we need is a quest leader. Chris, you've been here longest. Would you like to lead?" Chiron asked.

While Chris thought about that, I wondered how long he'd been coming here. No wonder Chiron thought I was stupid. I'd been talking to not only one, but two demigods on almost a daily basis for years, and not even suspected. Plus all the stuff about reading my brother's books and riding a pegasus all the time…

Chris didn't take very long to reply. "Uh, Chiron, I'm not exactly the leader type. Let one of the girls do it…I'd choose Gabbi, no offence Tiffany."

"None taken…" Tiffany nearly whispered.

Wait…Chris had just nominated _me_…for quest leader…that meant I would be in charge…I would be the one to blame if the whole world got blown up…and everyone was looking at me…oh, I was supposed to say something…Come on, Gabbi, say something, _anything_…I was at a loss… "Uh, I, s-sure, I guess…I'll lead." Wait, not that…I meant anything _but_ that…too late.

"Well then, its settled. You leave tomorrow at noon. I'm sorry, Capture the Flag is cancelled tonight. Good night, I'll see you all in the morning." Chiron walked to the Big House and went inside.

Later, in Cabin Three, Percy walked around packing a backpack with supplies for me. I sat on the bottom bunk and watched him. Nectar and ambrosia found their way into the bag, along with Coke and lots of blue food. I saw Percy put a large bag of blue chocolate chip cookies in the outside pocket. I smiled, because chocolate chip cookies are my favorite food. I watched as Percy walked to the corner of the room to the saltwater fountain. He reached into the water and pulled out a handful of small coins. He put them in a Ziploc bag and sealed it. That went into the backpack, and so did another Ziploc bag filled with normal money; I saw quarters, dimes and nickels, and bills ranging from ones to hundreds. When Percy seemed satisfied with the backpack's contents, he sat by me on my bed.

"I've packed enough money and drachmas for your trip, but I advise keeping some in your pockets in case your bag gets destroyed. And the same with ambrosia. I have no clue what the prophecy means, but make sure you remember it. And Gabbi? Promise me you'll come back." Percy looked at me, and I could see that he really cared about me.

"Percy, I promise I'll make it back. I…I love you…" My voice cracked. Tears flowed down my face.

Percy gave me another hug, but this time it wasn't awkward and he didn't seem as uncomfortable. I hugged him back and I didn't want to let go. He held me as I cried. After a while, he seemed to have a great idea.

"Want to go for a swim? That'll make you feel better, and it'll be fun." Percy said. His shirt was wet from my tears.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Percy, you are a great big brother." I wiped my eyes and smiled. He smiled back.


	4. The Winged Cowpokes

Percy woke me up bright and early. "You should get up if you want to be ready at noon."

I sat up and stretched. I was dreading this quest, because I didn't really want to have all the blame if the world was demolished. Anyway, I needed to finish gathering supplies. Clothes, for one thing. One change of clothes for who knows how long didn't seem like such a great idea. I also wanted to have time to test out my powers. Last night, when me and Percy were swimming, I had discovered that I was pretty much waterproof…unless I wanted to get wet. I wanted to see if I could do all the other stuff Percy had told me about.

When I arrived at the Big House at eleven thirty, I was ready to go, with my backpack on, and Thunderstorm on my belt. I saw Chiron, Percy, Chris, Tiffany, and all the other campers. There was a blond haired girl with gray eyes standing next to Percy. Chris looked just as cute and cool as always, and he was joking around with his brothers. He had a backpack just like me, all ready to go. Tiffany, on the other hand, was completely silent and just as scared as last night.

"Gabbi, Chris, Tiffany, come over here for a second. Chiron, Annabeth, and I want to talk to you about your quest." Percy called. The blonde girl, Annabeth, and Chiron both waved us over. Chris gave his brothers a few final high fives and walked on over to Chiron and the others. I did the same, minus the high fives, but Tiffany didn't. She ran over, darting like a deer. She was the first to get there, and I thought, _"She's a fast runner. That might come in handy."_

"So, first quest, Gabbi? I remember my first quest. Percy, me and Grover had to travel across the country to the Underworld. Best life threatening experience ever!" Annabeth smiled. "But now it's your turn. So my main advice is, don't ever turn your back on a monster. That's the worst thing to do. And since the monster you face is apparently in the south, don't go north, east or west. Go south."

"Thanks." I really appreciated the advice, and was glad to meet Percy's Annabeth, finally.

"Yes, go south. And this is not all. I have studied and pondered the prophecy, and the only other piece of advice I can give you is that you may want to stay in the open when possible. 'The earth will tremble'. Earthquake. Remember that, and try to stay safe." Chiron added.

I had already figured there would be an earthquake, but Chiron's advice would keep us safe. "I will."

Percy looked at me. "Water is always great to be around. Notice your surroundings. There might be a weapon or advantage point that you can use in a fight. Trust me. Last, but not least, you are my sister. Dad will answer you, just ask. And to all three of you, good luck." Percy smiled. "Have fun."

Annabeth smiled too. "Enjoy yourselves!"

"Iris-Message camp if you need, we'll most likely be here." Chiron said. "Now, did anyone prepare a speech? Joking!" He, Percy, and Annabeth laughed at our three appalled faces. "But would any of you like to say farewell?"

"Sure!" Chris said. "I'm cool with that."

"And I guess the leader should too, even if I'm really bad at public speaking." I smiled. "Tiffany, what about you?"

"N-n-no…I-I don't want to." Her eyes were wide. "Oh, all right…but really short, okay?" She gave in to our pleading glances.

"Well then." said Chiron.

The campers all stood waiting around the Big House porch. Then Chiron spoke up. "Campers, as you know, Rachel has given us another prophecy. Gabbi, Poseidon's daughter, Chris, Apollo's son, and Tiffany, Aphrodite's daughter, are called for this quest. Each has a few words to say, then they leave. Gabbi, would you like to go first?"

"Sure." I stepped up onto the porch. "I'm still new here, so I don't know everything about camp, or being a demigod, or fighting, and I don't know everyone's names, but I do know that this camp is the best place I've ever been. I want to thank you all for making me feel welcomed. We'll be back!"

The campers cheered. Chris nudged Tiffany up onto the porch. Tiffany stood there, eyes wide and nervous. Then she started to talk, so quietly, everyone had to be completely silent to hear. "Hi, everybody. I just want to say, that Chris, Gabbi and me will come back, so don't worry. That's all." Tiffany quickly looked down at her feet. She sure was shy!

Chris walked up the porch steps while a few people clapped for Tiffany. "Chiron asked us if we wanted to say farewell…I said yeah. So, here goes…Farewell." Chris said very importantly, giving a Miss-America-worthy wave. Then in a lighter tone, "What's up? The sky. What's down? I'll tell you. That monster's head! This thing's going down, just wait! Tiffany, Gabbi and I will murder it! And you all better forget claiming my bunk, I'll want it when I get back!"

Everyone laughed. Myself included. Then Chiron said, "Have you found some means of transportation yet? You should be going now."

Just then, three pegasi landed on the porch. _"Thanks, Dancer!"_ I thought, then said out loud, "Yeah! Pegasi flight to the south! See ya'll later!"

"Ye-haw!" Chris said, jumping astride the white pegasus stallion.

"Good luck, Gabbi, I love you!" shouted Percy as they all flew off. I was on Dancer, Chris on his white horse, and Tiffany on the other horse, a black stallion. The crowd cheered. Chiron, Percy, Annabeth, Will, Piper, Andreina and some others waved.

We were off to save the world.


	5. We Donce a la Monstre

I don't know why, but the words from Taylor Swift's song _White Horse_ kept running through my head. _"And it's too late for you and your white horse to come around". _Chris was a great horseman. He and his white pegasus, Cloud, were a great team. Tiffany was pretty good too. She rode Percy's black pegasus, Blackjack. Dancer and I had fun, galloping through the clouds, flying circles around the others. I guess we were showing off a bit, but it was fun. It helped me relieve some of the stress of leading the trio that was going to save or raze the world.

I knew we were supposed to go south, but I didn't know how far. I had only a bare notion of our destination. I asked the others, "So, where are we going?"

Chris started singing, " _'Where are we going? To the south! Where are we going? To the south!' 'Where are we going? I don't know. How do we get there? Come on, lets go! Me and you and Zaboomafoo, come along lets see what's new. At Animal Junction we're waiting for you!' "_

"Wow, Chris, really great input. Couldn't the son of Apollo think of something rather than Dora and Zaboomafoo? But seriously, where _are_ we heading? Tiffany, do you have any idea?" I asked again.

"I do have an idea, but I don't know if I'm right…I think we might go to South America, you know, likeChile, orArgentina, orBrazil. Just a hunch." Tiffany said. Her voice didn't betray any fear or insecurity. I was surprised, because she had seemed so afraid at camp.

"Well, I guess we could try… What do you think, Chris?" I said.

"So _now_ you want my input." Chris said in a wounded voice.

"I'm sorry." He was starting to annoy me. "Will you please forgive me?"

" _'It's too late to Apollo-gize. It's too late.' 'You shouldn't be beggin' for forgiveness at my feet.'_ " Chris sang. Apparently, Apollo's children know every song ever written…and have the perfect theme songs for every moment…_urgh!_

"Chris, I'm extremely regretting telling Percy I would come." He ignored me…sort of. "Please forgive me for insulting your ability of punctuating our lives with song. I am immensely sorry that I ever dissed your songs. Please give your input on this matter." I tried to apologize for needing his advice. He was part of our team, after all.

"Apollo-gy accepted." Chris said, finally.

"Ha ha… but thank you. So, what do you think?" I asked.

"I think we are heading south." At my exasperated look he explained. "I think we are going south, but right now, I'm tired, its almost sundown, and we should probably let the pegasi rest. Look, there's a hotel. Why don't we sleep, then talk about this in the morning?" he yawned.

"I see what you mean. Lets go." I was getting tired too.

We landed on the roof of the Shilo Inn hotel, in . We'd have given every innocent bystander a heart attack if three teenagers landed in the middle of the street on horses with wings. Plus, none of us have flight licenses. All sorts of law trouble there if the cops caught us. I told the pegasi telepathically to be back in the morning. They agreed, then flew off to find some pasture to graze. They would be comfortable for the night.

I called on my 'Daughter of Poseidon' powers and pulled enough clouds together for the three of us to float down to a safer height. They are evaporated water, after all. We stepped onto the clouds and they were just as firm as the concrete roof we had been on. Then the clouds took us to the alley behind the hotel. We ran around front and walked into the lobby. I paid for a room. As we walked to the elevator on our way to room 205, Tiffany squealed and dragged me over to a flyer on the wall.

"Look! There's a dance! Let's go PLEEEAAASE! It'll be so much fun! And what monster can dance? They're all so clumsy! Pleeeeeease?" Tiffany begged me and Chris.

"I don't know, Tiffany, it's late. And there could be a monster there. Maybe we shouldn't." I said.

Chris was looking at me kind of funny. Then he said, "I guess it could be fun…" Great. I was outnumbered.

Tiffany jumped up and down. "Yay! Lets go guys! Come on Gabbi!"

Geez. I thought Chris was tired. Oh well. "Fine. But we're leaving before eleven, okay? That gives us an hour and a half."

"Yes! That's great! This is going to be so much fun!" Tiffany said, gleefully.

"The dance is in Ballroom A. Downstairs and to your left." The desk lady told us, in a bored tone.

"Thanks!" Tiffany said, skipping down the steps. Chris and I followed her, not quite at the same pace.

When we got into the ballroom, the loud music and flashing lights made Tiffany jump up and down, then start dancing, spinning around and doing the robot. She was going crazy! Chris recognized the song, of course, and started singing. " _'I'm talkin' pedicure on my toes, toes, trying on all those clothes, clothes, tryin' to get a little bit tipsy…' _"

I left him, walking around, scoping it out. I tried to make sure that there were no monsters. Suddenly, the first song was over, and a new one started. It was a slow dance. Shoot, that meant I had to hide in plain sight from any potential partner. Just then, a hyper girl bumped into me.

"Sorry! I'm a little hyper! Who are you going to dance with?" she yelled over the noise.

"It's okay! I'm fine! And I'm not dancing!" I replied, then turned, and began to walk away.

"Not dancing? I can fix that! Let's find you a partner! Come with me!" she yelled back, grabbing my wrist and running off. This little blonde chick was a little scary.

She dragged me through the crowd, running between swaying couples. Finally, she stopped, about fifteen feet away from a boy with no partner. I noticed Chris and Tiffany dancing a little ways away. Chris seemed really out of it, though. I looked away. The hyper blonde girl had started yapping again.

"How bout him? He looks hot! You should dance with him! I'll go get him to ask you! It'll be so romantic! Don't you think that's a cute couple? I matched them up a few seconds ago! They seem to know each other! Do you know them? I've never seen them before!" she said as she saw me looking at Tiffany and Chris. I started to reply when I noticed she had left. Finally, freedom. I spoke too soon, and had no such luck. Just after I turned around to walk away, someone tapped my shoulder.

"Would you care to dance?" the boy without a partner asked. His accent was Frenchish, so it sounded more like _'donce_'. I didn't want to dance, but I figured I shouldn't be rude.

"I'm not the greatest dancer, but sure, I guess." I took his outstretched hand. He led me onto the dance floor (I mean _donce _floor!), and we began to twirl and swing around. He was an amazing dancer, and made up for my clumsiness tenfold. I didn't know it was humanly possible to dance as well as he did.

By the way, it isn't.

He wasn't human. I first noticed something wrong when I saw his eyes were shifting colors. One second, they were bright blue, the next, dark brown. His hair also changed, from red, to blonde, to brown with blue highlights. Even his skin color and facial features altered. I had no idea what he was, but he sure wasn't human. We had to get out of there before he smelled us. Monsters can smell us demigods, as if we're some kind of stinky cheese or something. Satyrs can smell us too, but we don't smell like lunch to them. I realized that we had to get away from him before he smelled us. I called to Dancer in my head, so she would be ready if we needed to run. Then I focused on smelling like your average, run-of-the-mill mortal, not like a demigod. Apparently, it didn't work so well. Or, maybe, he just smelled Tiffany.

The dance was half over when he bowed out. I was relieved. I went to find Chris and Tiffany, to leave this place, but the monster beat me to it. He asked Chris if he could cut in, and Chris said yes, _willingly_. Tiffany looked really excited that the handsome stranger had asked her to dance…if only she knew. While Tiffany and the monster danced, Chris came over and asked me to dance. I said I'd dance with him. It would be the perfect opportunity to tell him about the monster.

Chris put his hands on my waist. Awkward. I put mine around his neck. Double awkward. As we swayed to the music, I started to talk to him.

"Chris, there is a monster here! Tiffany's-"

"Who's the monster? Lets send him to Tartarus!" Chris cut me off.

"Chris, I was getting there! Tiffany's dancing with him! We have to save her!" I told him.

"Sword ready? Lets get him from behind!" Chris pulled his shirt up a bit, showing me his knife, concealed in his pants.

"Nice, Chris." I said sarcastically, pulling Thunderstorm from the same place. We advanced behind the monster. Tiffany saw us, swords in hand, and her eyes got wide. Then, she looked from us, to the monster, then back at us. I saw in her expression that she had realized what was going on. She started to talk to the monster.

"So, what's your name? Mine is Alicia. Usually, when you dance, you talk about that kind of INFORMATION." She smiled, then looked back at us, making sure we had gotten the message. I did.

"Chris, don't do anything rash. We can get some good info out of this guy."

"Yeah, lets back him up against the wall. Let's dance, Tiffany will follow us." Chris replied.

We started to dance our way over to the wall. Tiffany did follow us, slowly leading the monster our way. When he was close enough, Chris and I cut in between Tiffany and the monster. With our swords, we backed him up to the wall before he could react.

Chris spoke in a harsh, you-better-listen-or-I'm-slashing-you-to-pieces voice. "Listen, buddy, I want you to tell me what kind of monster you are, and where your leader is, and then, maybe, I'll let you live. Watch it or you're going to Tartarus."

Tiffany had joined us with her knife. The three of us had cornered the monster. He had no chance of making it out. Any way he ran, there would be one of us to stab him. He realized that, and finally spoke.

"I am George, the son of a manticore and an empousa. My father is Dr. Thorn, a great friend of Atlas, the Titan. My mother is Kelli, friend and assistant to the deceased Luke, Kronos' host body. I am not controlled by any other being, but all monsters are being gathered. We will smash all demigods, and eat them up! You have no chance! Do not bother to try finding Mother Echidna. She will allow us to feast on all half-bloods!" With that, he leapt straight into the air, over Chris's head. He landed running. Tiffany followed, darting between dancing couples, chasing, and closing the gap. George did not make it to the door before he exploded into dust. Tiffany had run in front of him, and having no time to react, George had impaled himself on her outstretched blade. The wild look in her eyes was frightening. I knew that any monster who crossed her path would have an impossible task: escape.

Chris nudged me, and I looked where he was pointing. Mortals around us were staring, seeing who knows what through the Mist. We had to leave before the police showed up. Chris and I ran out the door and Tiffany joined us. In the alley behind the hotel, we jumped onto the cloud elevators. Higher up, the pegasi were hovering. We mounted up and flew off.


	6. Monster Mommy

So, now we knew where to go. Somewhere south, looking for Echidna. And apparently, she had armies of her children ready to eat flesh. Wonderful. We were all enjoying the thought.

During the night, I showed Chris and Tiffany how to mount another horse (or pegasus) while riding. We practiced while flying lower to the ground overIndiana. When they were decent at it, we took turns sleeping. Tiffany would mount up on Dancer and I would support her while she slept, then I would sleep on Cloud while Chris flew, and Chris would sleep on Tiffany's pegasus, Blackjack. It was really awkward to sleep in Chris' arms, but twice as awkward when Tiffany was asleep. Just me and Chris. Wait, that sounds weird, like I have a thing for him, cause I don't, its just, well, me and him have known each other forever, but we're not like the greatest friends, and I'm not the greatest people person, and he probably remembers all the weird things, all the klutzy moments, all my goofs…its not the easiest thing to explain, but some people will understand. That was probably the longest run-on sentence ever…Sorry, back to the story.

It was dawn, and Tiffany was asleep. I was looking at the sunrise, and thinking about the morning when…never mind. I don't want to go there. We were silent. Well, until Chris felt we needed to have some conversation.

"Penny for your thoughts, Gabbi?" Chris asked, randomly interrupting my thoughts.

"Nothing. I don't want to talk about it." I don't like talking about my mom. I brushed a stray tear off my cheek.

"Okay, sorry. Can I have my penny back?" Chris joked, trying to change the subject.

"For your thoughts, you can." I half-smiled, because I needed to stop thinking about Mom.

"Uh…well, you'd probably laugh…" Chris turned as red as the clouds in the sunrise.

"I swear on Swiss cheese." I said, solemnly.

"May I ask why?"

"Cause its holey. Your thoughts?"

"Um, I kind of have a song stuck in my head…"

"Like usual. Sing it." I smiled for real this time.

"Okay, well… _'Can you see me? Cause I'm right here. Can you listen? Cause I've been trying to make you notice, how much it would mean to me, to feel like somebody-' _" Chris blushed more, and stopped singing.

"Well, I'm not laughing…but why do you have that song memorized?"

"Do I have to answer that?"

"If you want your penny back."

"Fine…I can kind of relate to it." I didn't know he could turn redder…but he did.

"Explain?"

"No, you can keep the penny. I won't talk."

"Pleeease?" I turned on my puppy dog eyes.

"Nah. Not even my bros know about-" His eyes got big and I knew he had said more than he was planning to.

"Oooh! You have a secret! Don't worry, it's safe with me!"

"Well…"

"You don't trust me?"

"No, Tiffany's just kind of waking up…"

"Oh."

Tiffany yawned and stretched. "Hey guys. Gabbi's turn to sleep."

I wasn't really in the mood to sleep. "Yeah, Tiffany. Here, get on Blackjack."

She mounted Blackjack and I mounted Cloud. I really wasn't tired…but I felt awkward and didn't want to continue our conversation. I pretended to fall asleep leaning on Chris with my head on his shoulder. I still felt weird, but it was better than staying awake and having the awkward silence that follows that type of conversation. After I 'fell asleep' I heard Chris sigh. He held me a bit closer. It was really weird, but I was supposedly asleep so I couldn't do anything about it…

I don't know when I drifted off, but somewhere along the way I fell asleep for real. I started to dream, but not in the good way. I had another nightmare, like I used to when I was a kid. I used to have really terrible dreams at night. All sorts of monsters used to kill me in my dreams. My mom would sing to me before bed, because otherwise I couldn't sleep. But this nightmare was different.

Instead of being attacked by the monsters in my dream, I was walking around a camp of them. Slimy, greenish tents stretched out for miles. Surrounding the tents were endless jungles. All through camp, running, waddling, crawling, and squirming, were dozens and dozens of monsters of every shape and form. Most had battle armor and weapons. Some seemed to be training. To kill. It looked like the Civil War…in the Amazon? Uh-oh, this must be the gathering George was talking about. But how could I be here? This was a real place, but I had never seen it before. How could I dream about it? I didn't know, but I didn't like it either. Then I saw Echidna.

Mother of Monsters. I could tell. She was reptilian, with green scales instead of skin and a forked tongue. She looked right at me. She smiled, and her ugly fangs showed. Then she made a biting motion towards me, and I woke up in a cold sweat.

"Howdy, Gabbi! Welcome toTexas!" Tiffany greeted me.


	7. Everything's Bigger in Texas

Ever heard that saying, everything is bigger in Texas? They mean the cows and such, but we found out the true root of that proverb.

I woke up about half an hour after I 'fell asleep' in Chris's arms. You know about the dream. I told my partners about the dream and they got quiet.

"Well…that's wonderful." Chris broke the silence.

"Yeah…Ohh, look! Let's land there!" Tiffany spurred her pegasus down to earth. We had no choice but to follow her.

Tiffany had decided to land at a certain ranch somewhere in the rural Texas area. The pegasi hid their wings, and we rode through the gate and towards the farmhouse like your everyday teenage cowpokes. Yeah. Totally inconspicuous. Anyway, the farmhouse was farther away than it looked, because it was ginormous. It looked a lot smaller from a distance. I kind of didn't realize how big it was until I saw the giant. I don't know what we were thinking, maybe, "Oh, let's gallop up to the giant with the two headed dog and the stick. Maybe he's in a good mood. La, la, la!" Then it got even better: a young giant appeared, then a young female giant, and a mature female giant…there was a whole giant family.

The first giant was the dad. He was wearing a T-shirt and Levi's, and huge cowboy boots. He also carried a huge club was the size of a tree. His son had a baseball bat the same size and hair down to his knees. He had seven toes on one foot and fifty on the other. His hands each had 4 fingers. He wore a cloak made of feathers over his tunic. Nothing crazy, except the tunic seemed to be alive… Then there was his sister. She was skinny and short, for a giant, and her clothes were much milder: a long skirt that reached her ankles, and a long sleeved shirt. The fabric was an array of different flower print clothes sewn together. Hawaiian flowers, pink flowers, real flowers, all kinds of flowers. And last, but _certainly_ not least, the mother giant. She looked like a giant Lady Gaga. Her clothes are difficult to describe, but to sum it up, they were crazy! She wore tons of makeup, as in, multiple 2,000 pound amounts. Her face looked heavily Botoxed, and angry. We faced all four of these giants as we rode onto the ranch.

Tiffany looked like she wanted to turn and run. And scream, probably because of the fashion choices of the giants. But she didn't. The giants met us halfway to the farm house and lined up across the road. Arms folded, they blocked our path.

I gulped. We slowed as we approached the giants, mostly because the horses were freaking out. Chris and Tiffany glanced nervously at me. I guessed they wanted me to talk. I was the quest leader after all. So I cleared my throat and yelled at the giants, "Hello." Lame, huh?

"Deemigods? What are theey doing heere?" the mom giant asked.

"Yo, check it I'ma gonna see if dey make swaggin targets." The son said, reaching down to pick Tiffany up. His sister swatted his hand away.

"Don't touch the poor dears! You might hurt them." She began to bicker with her brother. Their father was looking at us, as though he was trying to remember something.

"You…demigods…do you know Perry-no, Percy-Johnson-er, Jackson. Do you know Percy Jackson? Percy Jackson." He said, his brow furrowing as he still tried to remember.

"Percy's my brother." I said. How did this giant know my brother?

"Ah. Yes, I remember now. He was on a quest…are you on a quest?" the giant asked. "Oh, forgive me, I am Eurytion. Your brother freed me from Geryon a few years ago. Now I'm the boss around here. No more sacred cow meat. No more sacred hamburgers…" He trailed off, lost in thought.

His dog was sniffing Chris. "Um, yes we're on a quest. We need some help, but first, could you call off your dog?" Chris said.

"Éla edó, skylí!" Eurytion called. _Come here, dog._ "You follow too." He said, turning towards his house. We didn't have much choice but to follow.

In the farmhouse, I recognized some of the things mentioned in _The Battle of the Labyrinth_. But my attention was drawn from the decoration to the giants.

"We are looking for Echidna." Chris stated, business-like. I thought I was the leader, but I had absolutely no problem letting him take over. I noticed the female giants gasp, and the son gripped his baseball bat tighter. Eurytion seemed unaffected, he was all business too.

"May I ask why?" he questioned. He was really polite.

"She's building an army. We've got to stop her." This time Tiffany spoke up. She was serious, for once.

"I know. We may be able to help you. What do you need?" Eurytion knew? Hmm, we should find out more about that.

"Well, we'd like to know where she is." I said. I assumed it was my turn to talk.

"Mexico. She's in Mexico." Eurytion replied automatically. My first instinct was to trust him, but I had to make sure.

"How do you know?" Chris asked. We must be thinking the same thing.

"She, ah, asked us to accompany her." Eurytion was uncomfortable now. He seemed less trustworthy by the second.

"Why didn't you…accompany her?" I asked. I guess I might have seemed too rude, suspicious, but I had to be careful. We didn't want to walk straight to our deaths because of this giant.

"Well…Oh, I guess you want the whole story, don't you? And being demigods, you'll get it." We nodded, Tiffany was very energetic. The mother giant left the room. The sister apologized, saying her mom didn't like hearing the story, or thinking about it.

We listened as Eurytion told his family's story. His children joined in occasionally. This is what happened to them, ever since my brother had vaporized Geryon:

_Eurytion didn't notice Geryon's absense much. The only difference now was that Geryon couldn't be a horrible, nasty, selfish, evil, ugly scammer any more. Eurytion had control over where the sacred animals went, and they didn't go to the Titan army. In fact, he found people who paid MUCH more for the animals, and they didn't make sacred hamburgers. The farm's business skyrocketed, and the flesh eating horses were well behaved. It was wonderful.  
>But Eurytion got lonely, what with Orthus for his only company. He didn't realize how lonely he was until he met the giantess who called herself 'Sarabell'. She was a beauty, he was completely taken with her. <em>Eurytion blushed at this point of the story, and skipped most of the details. _Soon they had been married and the gods blessed them with two beautiful children, Sahara and Sahel. Their children grew fast, like all giant children, and they matured rapidly. Eurytion played ball with his son, and his daughter loved caring for the animals with him. They had family picnicks every week, and it was a happy time.  
>But not long ago, they recieved word of Echidna's rebellion. Mother Echidna ordered all her children, monsters from all over the world to meet her in Mexico. She promised them demigod suppers for the rest of their immortal lives if they came. Many did, some stopped at the ranch and demanded supplies on their way. Eurytion ran them off his property. He wanted nothing to do with the destruction of the demigods who had been so kind to him in years past.<em>

"So that's what happed. That's our story." Eurytion finished.

Tiffany recovered first from the onslaught of new information and ideas. "That was romantic!" Of course she would say that, she's a daughter of Aphrodite.

"Well, thanks. Now we know where to look." Chris said. Eurytion smiled.

"I have something for you." his daughter, Sahara, said quietly.

"Me too!" her brother yelled, not to be out done by his younger sibling.

"Wow, thanks you guys!" I said, startled by their outbursts. "We apreciate it." I looked at their father, and he nodded. We followed the kids out the door.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know, I know, I've made you wait waaay too long. Sorry! Don't hate me, even though I'm horrible at updating. I hope you like it, and I'm sorry for the cliffhanger. I'm updating soon, I promise!**


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